Raayan

Just watched "Raayan", marks Dhanush's second directorial venture, where he excels in both execution and performance. The meticulously choreographed action sequences offer a visual treat, AR Rahman's music elevates the tension in this modern action-thriller.

However, the writing department seemed to have large room for improvement, particularly in the conflicts between brothers, which feel lackluster, the villain arc, especially for a performer like SJ Surya, seemed underdeveloped, diminishing the overall impact the story could have delivered, making the film a one-time watch for its impressive performances and technical brilliance.

I just came out from watching an early screening of Raayan at the AMC 25 in Times Square. This movie exceeded all my expectations!

The slums and the several gang, police and civilian story lines coalescing brilliantly reminded me of Brazil's City of God. The revenge plot, the incredibly choreographed action sequences, and the nighttime glistening chromatic scenes reminded me of John Wick.

The movie clocks in at around 2hrs and 30mins. By the 90 minute mark I started thinking that the movie might become flat because it seems like all plot lines have been fully explored and the race to the ending would be a long-stretched, stereotypical one, but something happens that completely shifts the entire movie in a new direction. That something brought back feelings of rage and sorrow akin to Japan's Akira, where you are left speechless and empty at how things wound up the way they did.

For us westerners that grimace at the thought of a dance scene popping up in the middle of the scene, don't panic. There are only two major dance scenes in the movie that last around 5 minutes each, both of which fit in very well with the movie by conveying the emotions and forcefulness of their particular timestamps; the second dance scene was in particular potent and mesmerizing, nothing of a corney dance spectacle you might have seen in a YT Bollywood scene.

This movie and Kill have been the biggest movie surprises this year for me. It has certainly opened my mind to Indian films, and I can't wait to see more movies of this calibre.

Action-gangster-dramas tend to follow a pattern of origins-rise-conflict-resolution, and Raayan is no different. It, in fact, has a fantastic first half. There is style oozing in every frame, and Dhanush the director takes precedence here, over the writer and performer. Some interesting-yet-familiar conflicts are established, and it gave off the feeling that the Dhanush the writer may at least have a few tricks up his sleeve in the second half (this is such an Indian movie thing - the whole first-half second-half breakdown, i.e.). But then, the writing is really loose; twists happen for the sake of twists - nothing much makes sense. The style quotient still remains on the higher side - the music (Rahman in GOAT mode), the edits (GK Prasanna), and the cinematography (Om Prakash) are top notch. I strongly believe Dhanush benefited from working with his regular collaborators, and that's visible in the film's audio-visual output.

Dushara Vijayan gets a meaty role and she even gets a fantastic set piece in the second half. However, the writing of almost every character (except the protagonist) is two-dimensional, and this includes the primary antagonist played by SJ Suryah. He brings in the eccentric mannerisms (that we didn't get to see in Indian 2), but the writing doesn't elevate him to a major threat. The metaphor of a wolf in the jungle is used to good effect, though I like to believe some Selvaraghavan interventions in the script could've helped. The brothers, played by Kalidas and Sundeep, are also well portrayed, even when their parts are badly written in the second half. Overall, it's still a fine effort from D, the director.

Dhanush has always been one of Tamil cinema's most consistent actors in terms of the quality of projects he accepts. So when he makes his directorial debut, one surely must be excited to see what his storytelling vision really is. It's not very surprising that he tries to model his debut along the lines of some of his most acclaimed work as an actor (think "Asuran" or "Vada Chennai"), and for the most part, he has a story that's good enough to get the conversation started.

"Raayan" is a movie about an orphaned family of siblings fending for themselves in a city infested with gang violence and one where the volatile instability of their lives are highlighted. It has all the markings of a good 'Vetri Maaran-esque' movie, and it promisingly starts off in that regard too. Right until the movie's interval block, it has its sights set on where it would want to end up, and does a great job keeping the audience interested and invested in the movie and its characters.

For as well as it started, it's the movie's second half that disappoints massively, as it just comes across as if the movie is stuck not knowing where to go from here. It has very few points of interest from thereon, and the story beats just don't seem to work. The movie drags and drags to the point where you're now just waiting for it to end. The second half has nothing to offer and that stance is insulted further by the time we get to the movie's climax, which seems to be entirely unaware of the mockery it's making of the entire movie and its premise. It's disappointing especially, considering how promising the movie looked during its first half.

Most of the mistakes in this movie comes from bad flow and writing. It had the foundation to succeed, but didn't have the experience to build off that, and that is ideally where Dhanush would have to improve should he want to continue down this particular path of storytelling. And as for whether this movie is worth checking out in cinemas, no, it's not, don't bother.

It all starts with anticipation. Dhanush sets the tone, the plot, the characters, and the setting with ease; he's learnt from the best. Plus, nobody needs to tell him how to act, right? Well, yeah, right, but the film doesn't only start with anticipation, it ends with it. An eager audience shuffling in, with a tired one shuffling out. Raayan definitely starts strong, with powerful cinematography, as cinematographer Om Prakash shines with a gritty and dark take on Northern Chennai. While it is a plot point that has been done before, we don't feel as though it's a copy, simply a shade of a rehashed story.

Starting with the performances, they're beyond criticism. Dushara Vijayan stars in a rural dialect, playing a character similar to hers in Saarpatta. Sundeep Kishan, Kalidas, and Aparna Balamurali - I have no qualms, the young men never fail to amaze, and as for Balamurali, she's been the brightest of sparks in every film, regardless of how dull the script can tend to be. In the case of Dhanush, playing a tight lipped role similar to that of which we've seen in Nobody, he portrays everything flawlessly. So, if they can all act well, and of course, the script isn't torturous, then we're all good right? Wrong. The lack of villainy, and the resounding dull atmosphere, almost repeated like a broken radio, leaves the audience craving more - me especially. At times, I remember checking my watch in anticipation of dinner, as frankly, that was more exciting than watching Dhanush and crew walking down an alleyway to an unimpressive A. R. Rahman score for the umpteenth time.

Perhaps over-criticism is the bane of this film's existence, but perhaps Dhanush has released something unworthy of a second-time watch - rare for his stellar filmography. While drab, it's definitely worth a watch (if, of course, we lower our expectations to the ground). To sum up, the film holds its ground, barely, but surely. It suffers from a stellar cast and crew attempting to make the most out of a lacklustre script.

I'd recommend watching this film with an open mind, then forming your negative opinions afterwards, as I have, since you'll surely have many.